Protection
by ttfan111robstar1
Summary: Kaiba is forced to unveil his kinder side when Noah chooses to de-age his little brother in the Virtual World.


The flash of light was so bright it blinded them all.

Seto Kaiba had been running, hard and fast, rapidly trying to get to his little brother, to Mokuba. The flash of light blinded him, and the force behind the light surrounding his brother knocked him backward off of his feet several yards and ultimately slammed him to the ground. He covered his eyes so as not to see the bright light, And only looked when he knew it was safe. There were spots in his vision, from the brightness of the light and the darkness brought by his hands colliding, And his head ached from the impact. But he didn't have time to worry about that. He looked around frantically, staggered to his feet, and started running toward where the light had come from. Perhaps the explosion had damaged his eardrum, because he thought he could hear someone crying. Or maybe he was just insane? That was always a fun possibility to entertain, and at this point it could be conceivably true. And when he finally caught sight of his brother, he was one hundred percent sure it was.

Because in Mokuba's place was a squirming and bawling baby with a shock of dark hair.

Seto was… Well, shocked wasn't the right word. It was a _correct _word, but it didn't fit everything he was feeling. It was like shock and anger and fear and surprise were having a party together and they tried to name it for one occasion but they just couldn't. So for a moment, Kaiba stood there, trying to take this in, make sense of it. The first thought he had was completely unrelated to the matter at hand. He thought the ground smelled of Petrichor, that earthy smell made after rainfall on dry ground. And considering it had rained not too long ago in the virtual world, that made sense. And then, when the thought passed he berated himself for half a second for thinking of something so trivial at a time like this. What he did not understand at that time was that it was his brain trying to solve the problem by giving him a moment to process. And then, his mind scrambled to try and understand what had happened. This was a virtual world, so this wouldn't really be happening to his brother on the outside, right? Of course not. The Big Five had done something of a similar nature here and their bodies were vanquished. The question now was, why had Noah done this?

The answer came to him as quickly as the question had formed: To weaken him. Making his brother more helpless left him more vulnerable. Especially because as an infant, Mokuba could be easily hurt. Seto wanted to tear that little punk limb from limb for doing this to his brother, but he couldn't now. He had been young when Mokuba was a baby, but he remembered that time in his life. It was as clear to him in his mind as anything had ever been. And he remembered that Mokuba had had a high Emotional Intelligence, even as a baby. Or, if you wanted to be less technical about it, he was sensitive (though he preferred Emotional Intelligence personally because he didn't want anybody calling his brother anything but intelligent in any capacity). Kaiba made it a point to reign in his anger for the sake of his now baby brother. Then, slowly, he got down and lifted Mokuba into his arms. Once Mokuba was against his chest, he opened his eyes, and in that moment, Kaiba's world shifted.

He remembered so clearly the first time he had held his brother. He had felt happy and joyous, and excited and protective. And it had opened him up to a completely different kind of love than he had experienced from his parents. There wasn't another way for him to explain that. He could still remember those sensations, and how strong they had been if he concentrated hard enough. But the sensations he felt now put those to shame. The overwhelming protectiveness he felt encompassed him like a tidal wave. The love- that intense raw emotion that he hadn't held for anyone but his brother, the one that he kept under sharp guard for fear of it being used against him- exploded inside of him like a bomb that literally blasted away every emotional wall he had ever put up between himself and his brother, be it for his own protection or his brother's. He knew what needed to be done now. The knowledge came as easily as breathing, from an instinct older than time itself. He decided, for once, to let Yugi and his band of geeks finish Noah off. He couldn't worry about that now. Mokuba needed him, and that instinct to protect and defend him was roaring at him, full blast. He swayed a little, side to side, bouncing him slightly in his arms as he did so, and sang to him to calm him. And very quickly, it worked. Mokuba easily responded to his brother's calm demeanor and gentle motions. The crying ceased, and Mokuba began to coo. Seto smiled, the most genuine and affectionate smile he had given anyone in such a long time, and held his brother a bit tighter. He wouldn't let anyone hurt his brother. Never.

Once Mokuba calmed, he turned to see what the geek squad had managed to do in his absence. Mostly, as he'd thought, nothing had happened. Unconsciously, he continued bouncing Mokuba in his arms in hopes of keeping him calm. He looked to Noah, who was laughing. His eyes narrowed- he couldn't stand that kid.

"What's the matter, Seto? A little overwhelmed?" Noah mocked.

"By how much I want to kill you? Yes, very." Seto shot back. He did, however, keep a calm tone so as not to upset his brother.

"In case you've forgotten, we're in the middle of a duel here. I don't think you're in any position to kill me."

_Damn it, he's right. _Seto thought. His grip on Mokuba tightened slightly. He held Mokuba like a talisman against rash behavior. He had to think this through, but his emotions were so high-strung in that moment that it was hard. He looked down at Mokuba, who had a tiny hand wrapped around one of his fingers. He realized that he couldn't continue dueling without putting his baby brother in danger. No. He couldn't risk Mokuba when he was so vulnerable.

"No, I'm not. Not yet." He said. He turned to Yugi, and despised himself for what he was about to do, but knew he had no other choice. Swallowing his pride, he looked at his rival. "Yugi."

"Yeah, Kaiba?"

"I need you to take over this duel."

There was a gasp from all parties present. Joey looked as though he was about to have a conniption. Yugi just gaped at Kaiba.

"I can't put Mokuba at risk." He said through gritted teeth. However, when he looked down at Mokuba's happy face, he couldn't help but smile a little too.

Yugi nodded in his understanding. "You've got it."

Noah, not unaware of the exchange, shrugged. "It will still be your body on the line, Seto. It doesn't matter to me who you send in your place."

Seto grit his teeth again, and looked to Yugi. "Don't screw up, Yugi. My future, my brother's future, and the future of my company are in your hands."

Yugi nodded, looking at Kaiba and the infant Mokuba, and understanding all that was at stake for them. He stepped forward. "Alright, Noah! Let's duel!"

Kaiba stepped back, angry with himself. He knew very well that he had done the best thing for his brother, but he hated to swallow his pride the way he had. Mokuba, as though noticing this, squeezed his finger tightly. Seto looked down, and Mokuba reached a free hand up to pat his cheek. Seto couldn't help the smile that graced his face at that. Even this young, his brother knew exactly what he needed. Seto leaned down to his brother. It felt perfectly natural to press his lips to his brother's forehead. A dim memory flashed in his head, and he recalled doing this to his brother the day he came home from the hospital.

This version of events was slightly altered from the original. Back when he was a child, he'd been filled with a sense of awe and wonder at his little brother. But this was different. This time, it was so much more. Something in him clicked into place in that moment of connection. The familiarity of Mokuba's cry, his scent, the look of his eyes. It all wove into the most natural of patterns. Mokuba seemed so upset to be apart from his brother, and Seto felt the same way. A protective feeling, fiercer than any need to win, encapsulated his entire being. He'd been protective of his brother before, but this was different. This was something so deep he couldn't explain it. If Noah tried to lay one hand on his baby brother, he knew he'd smash this entire virtual world into bytes.

Mokuba let out a squeal of delight at the kiss and put both tiny hands on his brother's face. When Seto pulled away, he was smiling. It was the most genuine smile any spectator had ever seen from him. In fact, Joey was completely terrified of the fact that Seto Kaiba was smiling. However, it wasn't such a bad thing in the context. Joey didn't know anybody who wouldn't smile at a baby. Even Kaiba.

Kaiba shifted Mokuba in his arms, cradling him against his chest once more. Mokuba seemed lulled by the familiar heartbeat, and his eyes began to droop. Quietly, Seto began to sing to him. Mokuba quickly fell asleep, and Seto smiled softly at him before he looked to see how Yugi was doing.

As he watched, he felt something strange. A growing weight in his arms. He looked down to see that Mokuba was bigger now, more the size of a toddler. He wondered if Noah wanted to watch him struggle with this and that was why it happened. However, he was not phased by it. He knew what Mokuba needed better than anybody. There wasn't anything the kid could throw at him that he wasn't prepared for.

For now, however, Mokuba seemed content to nap.

Seto was very aware of the rest of the Geek Squad looking at him. He could understand it, honestly. Were he not living in this moment he was right now, he wouldn't have believed this either. The sight of himself holding a toddler version of his brother was probably a strange sight for all of them but himself. He'd carried Mokuba in his arms through every stage of the kid's life, so the feel of him, at whatever size, was always comfortable to him. He didn't care about what they thought, and never had. As long as his little brother was okay, that was what mattered.

Mokuba stirred slightly in his arms. Seto automatically began stroking Mokuba's ebony hair in hopes of calming him.

"Shhh. Go back to sleep." He said softly.

However, Mokuba was not settled. His mouth opened in a little "o" shape with a yawn, and his violet gray eyes opened sleepily.

"Bubba?" Came the sleepy coo.

Kaiba's heart skipped two beats, not having heard the term of endearment in over a decade. Despite himself, he felt his heart of stone crack a bit upon hearing it, and he smiled.

"Hey there, Kiddo. Did you have a good nap?" Seto's voice was gentle, interested.

Mokuba nodded slowly, wrapping his tiny arms around his brother's neck. "Uh huh."

Kaiba automatically began rubbing his back. "That's good. Do you want to go back to sleep?"

Though Mokuba yawned again, Seto felt him shake his head. "Nuh uh."

"No?" He asked softly.

"Nah. Wanna play."

"You want to play?" Seto asked, trying to stall for time to figure out what to tell his little brother.

Mokuba nodded happily. "Uh huh!"

"How about I tell you a story instead?"

Mokuba brightened immediately at that. "Yeah!"

Seto couldn't help the small smile that graced his face. "Alright. What story do you want to hear?"

"Mama and Daddy?" He asked.

Though Seto's expression remained unchanged, there was a stab of pain at the words. It took him a moment to grapple with his own philosophy about this. He did not, in general, talk about their parents- even to Mokuba. It went against his beliefs to recollect the past, but looking into Mokuba's hopeful eyes, he couldn't deny him.

Seto took a moment to sit down on the grass, settling Mokuba in his lap. "Alright."

Mokuba cheered, and got comfortable in his brother's lap, looking at him eagerly.

Deciding to tell him the story of how their parents met, he cleared his throat and began. "It was twenty years ago in late December. A young woman was going to a Christmas dance when a young man asked to dance with her. They were together all night, and the next day he called to ask her on their first official date. Neither of them were very well off, but they made do with things that didn't cost money. Right after their first date, he knew he'd found the right one. So he started saving up for a ring, and he proposed to her two years later. They got married a year after that, and one year later, they had me. And just when they thought they couldn't get any happier, they found out you were coming. When you came, everybody was smiling." He said.

Mokuba beamed. "They happy?"

Seto smiled softly. "Everybody was very happy."

Mokuba gave his brother a hug. "I like happy."

Seto wrapped his arms around his brother, noting how small he felt in his arms. "Me too, Mokie. Me too." He whispered, even though he could hardly remember what that felt like anymore.

Joey, Tristan, Téa, Duke, Serenity, and Yugi were all very aware of the exchange going on between the brothers. Their eyes were fixated on Yugi's Duel with Noah, but their ears were listening to the story Kaiba told his brother. Joey had to wipe a tear away from his eye at the story. He slid a step closer to his little sister, and held her hand, remembering moments like that from his childhood with her. Yugi, despite being involved in a duel with Noah, was smiling on the inside at the story.

The rest of them, however hardened to Seto Kaiba, found themselves moved by the touching family moment. It didn't show on their faces, but in errant thoughts, they found it sweet.

Noah, however, was not unaware of the exchange. He found himself rather amused by what surely had to be a painful recollection for his stepbrother. He could have very well ended the conversation with the snap of his fingers, but chose to let it play on, solely for the reason of tormenting his Stepbrother.

"Bubba?" Mokuba's small and frightened voice caught Seto's attention immediately.

"What is it, kiddo?" He asked, stroking Mokuba's hair soothingly.

"They gone 'cause me?"

It was a moment, frozen in time. Kaiba's heart stopped for a few seconds in his chest, and then promptly shattered into a million pieces. Silence descended onto the playing field. The duel seemed to stop, and Yugi and Noah both looked at the brothers sitting on the ground. Joey, Téa, Tristan, Duke, and Serenity also turned to them. Everything seemed to stop in that one endless instant.

Seto pulled his brother close to him, and spoke gently to him. "Listen to me, Mokuba." He said softly, and Mokuba looked up at him. "Mom and Dad weren't your fault. they were so excited when they found out you were coming. Mom had a hard time when you were coming, but she just got sick. The doctors couldn't help her. That's not your fault. But she got to hold you, and she said goodbye to us. All of us. And Dad… He was in a car accident. He didn't want to leave. It wasn't because of you at all. It wasn't a choice. Dad cared. He loved us- but one bad driver ruined that. Not you, Mokuba. They weren't your fault. It's never been your fault."

Seto wasn't all too sure of how much of that his brother would understand, but the words seemed to break through to him. Mokuba wrapped his arms around his brother's neck in a vice grip, and Seto felt hot tears seeping into his coat. He rubbed Mokuba's small back soothingly.

"Shhh. It's okay." He promised, curving his body protectively around the small boy.

Seto immediately began bouncing his little brother in his arms, getting up from the ground with a panther's easy grace and beginning to walk around with him, just as he had done when his brother had been a baby. It had always worked to calm him down. Now was no different.

Mokuba's tears dammed, and he seemed to go limp against his elder brother. Seto rubbed his back gently, until the sound of Noah's laughter caught his attention.

"Put your hands over your ears for me, Mokie." He said softly.

Mokuba did as he was asked.

Kaiba turned his attention to Noah. "And just what's so funny, kid?"

"The mighty Seto Kaiba reduced to a nanny. I don't know why I didn't think of this when you first arrived here. You'll never be able to run Kaiba Corp when you show such weakness." Noah said, grinning.

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "Taking care of my little brother is not a weakness. You're a spoiled little brat, who was an only child. You had everything handed to you on a silver platter, and you never had to work for anything in your life. You never had anybody depend on you. My little brother makes me strong. You, with nobody to love you, are weak."

Noah looked smug. "_I'm_ weak? Did you learn nothing from my father? Love is weakness. Nothing will ever weaken you more than loving somebody else. You should know that by now."

"You're almost right. Loving anybody outside of your family is weakness. But loving your family is what brings strength."

Noah looked at him with the strangest look of pity and and odd anger. "What a shame that you won't be around much longer to preach at me. I've been thinking that you should be a permanent fixture here in my world as a monument to my triumph."

Kaiba knew in his heart what that meant. However, Mokuba was safe and that was all that mattered. He tapped his brother's small shoulder. Mokuba took his hands from his ears.

"Do you still wanna play a game, Mokie?"

"Yeah!" He chirped.

"How about hide and seek?"

"Uh huh!"

"Close your eyes for me, Kiddo, and I'll count. No peeking, okay?"

"Kay!"

"Cover your eyes for me." He said gently.

"Yay! Hide an' seek!"

"That's right, kiddo. Hide and seek."

Mokuba did it, and he started counting.

"One."

The white light was headed toward them, coming from Shinato.

"Two."

Kaiba's grip on his little brother tightened.

"Three."

The light reached him, and he felt his feet being encased in stone.

"Four."

The stone was up to his chest now, beginning to work at Mokuba the same way.

"Five."

They were both encased in stone.

Time seemed to stand still. He didn't know how long they were trapped like that, waiting for freedom. But suddenly, they were free.

Kaiba took a breath in. Feeling the comforting weight of his brother safely in his arms, he felt a great sense of relief.

He set Mokuba down, feeling the ache of his own arms. At that very moment, another flash of blinding light struck. Kaiba shut his eyes, and when he looked back, Mokuba was back in his real body.

"Seto!"

"Mokuba." It was a sigh of relief.

Mokuba ran to him, and Kaiba held him close.

"It's going to be alright now. I promise."

It was a promise he would always keep.


End file.
